Dragon Cave App

[ivory_airheart]

I think it would be grand if, by any chance, there could be an app maybe. I have an android phone and I have many apps but I go threw them a lot. Uploading and delete them because they are nothing compared to playing dragon cave. I do see that the current web page is good for mobile phones but I believe with an app you all would get more people and even donations to help bring it all up and keep it running. I know once I get some money I would help with donations to get it all rolling. I love dragon cave and have been a member for almost 9 years and I have seen this site grow and that makes me happy to see others so interested in dragons. Thank you all for all you do. :-)

 

So I know when I say simple, making a phone app is by no means a simple task. I just mean an app with simplistic features for DragCave users.

 

What I would like to see the app do when we log into our DC account:

 

Only show current eggs and unfrozen hatchlings.

 

Allow us to see if any are currently sick.

 

Allow us to freeze any currently unfrozen hatchlings.

 

Allow us to fog any eggs or hatchlings.

 

I mostly came up with this idea when watching over my recent batch of eggs, trying to access the site through the browser on my phone was a pain considering mobile data isn't very fast + when you go onto your scroll, it also loads up all the dragons on your scroll (for that page anyway) which slows it down further + eats away at my data, when I was just trying to get on to check my eggs and fog them if necessary.

 

The idea of the app is for people to keep an eye on their eggs and hatchies while away from home, quick and easy, and tend to them if they happen to fall sick. Whether this later gets made into a full-blown DragCave app is another story- at this stage keeping things as simple as possible is my idea.

 

Please make this game an actual 3D mobile app! I would get it if even if it cost $3.50, as long as the game was made 3D and you could walk into the cave and things like that. Amazing if you would, thanks!

 

If you want an app just because there are issues you've noticed with the mobile format, please just point out mobile issues in the mobile suggestions thread: https://forums.dragcave.net/index.php?showtopic=153450

Edited September 26, 2015 by SockPuppet Strangler

[Nectaris]

I am against any sort of app. Even if it were free, to be of any use at all, it would likely give some sort of advantage to those who have smart phones and can afford the costly data plans.

 

To me, such things would be worse than any true pay feature. A few bucks for a feature is NOTHING to the price of those phones and their data plans.

Edited December 29, 2013 by Nectaris

[car340]

This site isn't even 9 years old...

 

 

Well, if there was an app, what would be on it? DragCave doesn't have anything special on it, and it has to be online to connect with others. An app would probably need lots of money to make, and most of this site is run on advertisements.

 

Not like there's mini-games or free huntings, people with high quality phones could easily get the app and have a huge advantage. That's why we use the internet, so there's an equal chance.

Edited December 29, 2013 by car340

[ivory_airheart]

I see what you both are talking about I guess I didn't really think about the data planes because mine is unlimited for a small price. As far as there not being games I think it would be cool for the holiday treats. I'm not sure what it would look like and for those that have smart phones they usually have a network connection si we don't need the internet. Most apps out there require a connection anyways si it won't be to much different then the others. I thibk to truly make an app awesome is time. I may be mistaken on how long but I know it has been many years.

[HeatherMarie]

*peeks in*

 

I'm a little naive girl when it comes to all those fancy smart-phones and stuff, so in order to understand this suggestion I have to ask: what's the difference between an "app" and the "mobile site" that we already have? And to my knowledge, an "app" can only be accessed by certain types of phones, so unless all it did was allow access to the site, there would be unfair advantage. And if that's all it did... why not use the mobile site?

[Renorei]

Using that logic, DC the website is unfair because not everyone can afford a computer and an internet bill.

 

[MysticTiger]

Using that logic, DC the website is unfair because not everyone can afford a computer and an internet bill.

I think what Marie is getting at is, if the App gives someone an advantage over other users (for example, always able to get the egg, no matter if someone else clicks first, able to get App exclusive dragons, etc) then it wouldn't be fair.

[Nectaris]

Using that logic, DC the website is unfair because not everyone can afford a computer and an internet bill.

There are ways to get online if you don't have a computer yourself, they may not be as good as having your own, but they do exist. If you don't have a smartphone, there is no way to get the benefits of one. Plus, as an online game, it is a given that you need SOMETHING to access the internet. My point was, was that anything that made the app useful or interesting would likely have to provide a distinct advantage to the user.

Edited December 29, 2013 by Nectaris

[Fuzzbucket]

There are ways to get online if you don't have a computer yourself, they may not be as good as having your own, but they do exist. If you don't have a smartphone, there is no way to get the benefits of one. Plus, as an online game, it is a given that you need SOMETHING to access the internet. My point was, was that anything that made the app useful or interesting would likely have to provide a distinct advantage to the user.

And the cost of a smartphone contract is - not cheap.

 

But apps would have to offer something the game did not - or what would be the point. And because of that there would have to be some kind of advantage conferred. Just playing on a computer or tablet/pad gives a level playing field for all.

[MinervaClay]

You know there are plenty of cheap smartphones, right? Mine is 45 dollars a month unlimited everything, AND it's how I get my internet for my computer.

 

That said, the DC site barely functions for me on my phone. Images won't load half the time, I get bounced around awkwardly when i click links and directed to other pages I KNOW I didn't highlight with my finger, and issues I don't have using, say, a facebook app.

 

There doesn't need to be app exclusive dragons; but unless someone can make the mobile website way more friendly, I don't see the reason to bare one's teeth at the idea of an application if it gives no boons beyond "works as well as the site does if you're on a computer", because god knows I can NOT use the site on my phone. It just. Doesn't. Work. I know it's well intended and has attempted mobile functionality but no. It gives the computer users the advantage, hands-down, by all stretches.

 

Under the premise that someone would volunteer to code it (or a specific donation bin was launched under the premise of paying someone to make the app), I see NO problem in making a functional app. Just make it act like its own DC-specific browser instead of everyone's phones barfing out the mobile site differently. No extra boons, no extra credits, better navigation.

 

Otherwise, yeah, it's like complaining because an Apple II can't access DC and it's unfair.

[Fuzzbucket]

If an app just plays the game the same as the rest of us play it - what's the point ? Just improving the mobile site should do it - and TJ is constantly working on that.

 

$45 a month is almost twice what I pay for absolutely unlimited broadband on my PC and the laptops of two other people, though. I don't call $45 a month CHEAP, and I bet others don't either ! And you say yourself you also have a computer - so you would be one person who didn't even need an app. (We don't need to be here 24/7 !)

 

Don't get me wrong - I don't care one way or the other, as long as there is NO playing advantage conferred by an app - but I can't see how an app would be any better than a good mobile version of the site.

Edited December 30, 2013 by fuzzbucket

[Obscure_Trash]

That said, the DC site barely functions for me on my phone. Images won't load half the time, I get bounced around awkwardly when i click links and directed to other pages I KNOW I didn't highlight with my finger, and issues I don't have using, say, a facebook app.

There was a previous thread suggesting an app because the user had noticed issues with the mobile site. TJ closed it asking for people to point out the issues in mobile instead, so if you notice bugs or issues with the mobile, please make sure to report them. There are a few existing threads reporting mobile issues, so if you notice one that you still have, perhaps bump it. :3

[MinervaClay]

If an app just plays the game the same as the rest of us play it - what's the point ? Just improving the mobile site should do it - and TJ is constantly working on that.

 

$45 a month is almost twice what I pay for absolutely unlimited broadband on my PC and the laptops of two other people, though. I don't call $45 a month CHEAP, and I bet others don't either ! And you say yourself you also have a computer - so you would be one person who didn't even need an app. (We don't need to be here 24/7 !)

 

Don't get me wrong - I don't care one way or the other, as long as there is NO playing advantage conferred by an app - but I can't see how an app would be any better than a good mobile version of the site.

That's just it though; just because I have a computer doesn't mean I have the time to go home, sit in front of it etc. Just because -you- don't see the purpose of it doesn't mean -nobody- would have purpose in it.

 

My primary issue is the navigability of it. That and the fact that images don't load half the time. I just don't see the reason for all the raw resistance to it. Facebook's app doesn't give boons to the users, it just makes it more navigable. People use it. There are some types of GUI that a browser version simply can't handle.

 

That said, I'm going to remain a casual DC user because of just this: most of my days are out-and-about-and-aboat, and the mobile site will never be close to as functional as the computer version. By the time I come home I'm working on documents, and typing other things up, and stick a forum reply in here-and-there. I can devote a few minutes here or there, but can't sit there refreshing constantly while I have work to still do. Now, if I could have a reliable mobile app, I could actually have much better interactivity with the site while I wait on appointments, clients, and any other number of long stalls during my day. I somehow doubt I'm alone in that. Spitballing a bit: what about a single mother with a few kids who wants to squeeze in dragon hunting while the macaroni boils and the broccoli steams? How about a person who commutes a lot and is stuck out waiting for the bus several hours a day? A person who owns a small business front that's slow during several periods of the day that wants to cruise for eggs? "Well they have a computer at home, maybe"? I just... don't quite understand why it's "RARARA there has to be an extra perk to it!" When... just about every app I use doesn't give special perks--just increases functionality.

 

As for my phone cost, considering that's my phone AND my internet, I think you're missing the point. It IS affordable. AND I'm not stuck in a contract. AND you're obviously in an area where broadband is widely accessible, as some places I've lived charge 60 a month for very limited, delayed ping internet, so that argument becomes moot depending on region.

Edited December 30, 2013 by MinervaClay

[Guillotine]

Honestly, as someone who had to use the mobile version exclusively for an extended period of time because my laptop died suddenly? An app that did nothing but work as well as the main site would have been greatly appreciated. The mobile site is honestly kind of a nightmare to navigate (the links are faaaar too close together for touchscreens, for one...) and use, and I don't mean in a "it's a buggy mess" way. It's just not very good for its intended purpose, like most mobile sites.

 

I mean, hell, the Ebay app has less functionality than the main site but I still use it a lot because it's just more convenient for me 90% of the time. You don't need a shiny new thing involved to get people to use an app.

 

...That said, I doubt we'll ever see one. Apps are expensive and time-consuming to produce.

[diaveborn]

I wish there could be time spent into making the mobile site a bit different from the main site. For example, the suggestion people have about putting text below the eggs in the AP so that all of the eggs are more easily visible. Stuff like that would help the mobile site to be better-functioning and not just a basic copy of the non-mobile site.

[Hisa]

I'm up for app which allows scroll actions and etc but not catching or so...

 

(Just was going to accept a trade offer but bexause of screen moving down the second I clicked I instead canceled the whole trade, yay! =_= )

[Fuzzbucket]

As for my phone cost, considering that's my phone AND my internet, I think you're missing the point. It IS affordable. AND I'm not stuck in a contract. AND you're obviously in an area where broadband is widely accessible, as some places I've lived charge 60 a month for very limited, delayed ping internet, so that argument becomes moot depending on region.

Actually - just to address your last point - where I live broadband is far from accessible - we are on a privately owned radio hub which costs rather more than what most people pay for a connection via phone line or cable. But I do take your point about being out and about.

[Oasis]

It would be great to have an app, I support this.

[HeatherMarie]

So the main reason for this suggestion seems to be that the mobile site sucks.

 

Well then why not focus on making the mobile site more user-friendly? PM/email TJ, make sure he knows the exact issues and that lots of people are frustrated, etc.

 

If the App is just a work-around because a different feature isn't working right, I don't think that's the right way to go about it. *Fix* what's wrong instead of inventing a whole new feature.

[Renorei]

I think what Marie is getting at is, if the App gives someone an advantage over other users (for example, always able to get the egg, no matter if someone else clicks first, able to get App exclusive dragons, etc) then it wouldn't be fair.

Yeah but there is no suggestion in the OP that the app should come with any advantage over the regular website nor is there any reason to believe the app would offer such an advantage.

[Fuzzbucket]

Actually the OP made no suggestion as to what an app should be like; I took it to mean something extra, like all the other apps you get on a phone - but not that it would confer advantages. It did seem to me to suggest something to make it more exciting and "draw more people in". And that it would cost.

 

But I do think it is very important that it should NOT give advantages !

[Nectaris]

Yeah but there is no suggestion in the OP that the app should come with any advantage over the regular website nor is there any reason to believe the app would offer such an advantage.

What other point is there to an app to a site than to make a site more useable? If you are talking about making it as good as the current site, then there is no reason the mobile version could not be brought up to snuff rather than make a lot of extra coding for something that fills the same gap that the mobile site was supposed to fill. If fixing the mobile site is such a horrible option, then I truly wonder what it is you want from an app OTHER than something that would make it easier to play.

 

 

Edited December 30, 2013 by Nectaris

[vivo]

I don't see this happening. Coding takes time, and Dragcave isn't profitable. If I were TJ I wouldn't do it.

[lightningsky]

I wish an app could be made as well but I am not counting on it. I used to use my laptop for dc all the time until it crashed, now im stuck playing on my phone and tablet. The mobile site isnt horribly bad but it takes a decent amount of time to load images and completing small tasks such as breeding and applying bsas. And sometimes where I put my finger to click a link or catch an egg, I found myself somehow getting directed to something totally different or even picking up eggs in the cave when I clicked to go to my scroll (which is th most annoying thing, it makes cave hunting a gamble). Im sure this problem is more related to android powered systems because when I use my friends iphone, no such problems occur unlike my phone and tablet. I thought id mention it though.

 

id love an app to make playing dc much smoother on mobile devices but if there is a way to fix the mobile site to make it more navigatable then im all for it. I dont know why people would assume that an app would give us phone users an advantage over cpu users....were just asking for something to make playing around here easier and simpler, since well, not all of us the time to sit on the comp or even have comp to play on lol. Cpu users already have the advantage of a better and faster network connection which makes hunting more efficient. By the time my tablet loads the page the eggs sitting there are pretty much long gone....even hunting for just commons sucks sometimes. of course im assuming that the cpu isnt on dialup or such or just slower internet....I feel your guys pain now...I was spoiled with my laptop and its decent speed. /rant

[Htt71]

I love the idea! Some of the holiday events just require a computer to use, how do they expect mobile users to double click? I think it'd be a fun treat!

Also, computers cost more than phones generally, so saying it gives someone without the capability of affording one an advantage makes no sense.